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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1980s
    Movies - 1980s Movies - D 2 Mins Read

    Deathtrap (1982)

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    Sidney Bruhl’s reputation as a playwright is on the line when another of his plays is panned by the critics. Admitting that he would do anything for a hit, Bruhl (Michael Caine) is forced to rely on his sick wife for financial support. Then one of his former students (Christopher Reeve) sends him a script.

    deathtrap2

    The original play by Ira Levin about a playwright plotting murder after the panning of his recent work was a particularly clever piece of stagecraft.

    But like Sleuth (1972), it was heavily dependent on the theatre itself to make its tricks work.

    No matter how well director Sidney Lumet manages to disguise the theatricality, and despite hard work by leads Caine and Reeve, the bare bones of Jay Presson Allen’s script remain insubstantial, and the basic plot devices ultimately sink the project cinematically.

    However, Dyan Cannon is absolutely splendid, and Irene Worth puts in a rare movie appearance.

    It may work for some, but it’s really very silly and quite unpleasant in tone and character, with some desperately gratuitous, vulgar moments.

    deathtrap4

    Sidney Bruhl
    Michael Caine
    Clifford Anderson
    Christopher Reeve
    Myra Elizabeth Maxwell Bruhl
    Dyan Cannon
    Helga Ten Dorp
    Irene Worth
    Porter Milgrim
    Henry Jones
    Seymour Starger
    Joe Silver
    Burt the bartender
    Tony Dibenedetto
    Stewart Klein
    Stewart Klein
    Jeffrey Lyons
    Jeffrey Lyons

    Director
    Sidney Lumet

    Video

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